Social sustainability consultant.
On the customer side, social sustainability is who can use the product, and whether the firm will fund the work. I was Head of Customer Sustainability at Standard Life.
What it means in a UK firm
A board often meets this subject as a reporting pack. The brief I take is the customer one. Who the product works for, and whether the change has a budget. I have written that the largest social impact a financial services organisation will ever have is through its products. The piece is customer strategy and social impact.
I am not a law firm and I am not a compliance monitor. I look at the customer evidence, and at the funding case.
How a programme gets funded
I secured £1m of Board and ExCo funding for a customer sustainability programme. The case that landed was a customer outcome the board could see, with a cost that fitted the change budget. I have written up how we got the gender pension gap work funded, including the webinars to thousands of women on the basics of finance.
The financial inclusion page is where that gender pension gap strategy is set out. Consumer Duty is where the same customer evidence has to show up in outcomes.
What I help with
- A customer sustainability programme a board can fund, scoped around who can use the product.
- The inclusion strategy inside it. The first Financial Inclusion Customer Strategy I led sat in this work, on the gender pension gap.
- A clear line on reporting. If the brief is an ESG report, I will say so on the first call. That is a different piece of work.
- A bounded first read. The customer experience diagnostic is 2-4 weeks when you want the map before a larger programme.
Why me
I spent seven years at a FTSE 100 insurer across proposition, customer strategy and customer sustainability, and I held the Head of Customer Sustainability role at Standard Life. I have been inside the budget conversation as well as the customer one.
Proof
Board and ExCo funding of £1m for a customer sustainability programme. The first Financial Inclusion Customer Strategy I led was on the gender pension gap. The figure the team was working with was that women end up with roughly 40% less saved than men by retirement. We got the investment, and we launched webinars to thousands of women on the basics of finance.
How we can work together
As a consultant on a defined project, as a contractor on day rates, or as an interim if the gap is a person rather than a project. Fully remote on CET hours, on site when it matters, flexible on contracting route, and I'll be straight about rates on the first call.
Related thinking
- Financial inclusion
- Consumer Duty consultant
- Customer strategy and social impact
- How we got buy-in for customer-first work
Get in touch
If a customer sustainability programme needs a funding case, or you are unsure whether the brief is customer work, tell me the product. I will say on the first call if I am the wrong person.
Common questions
What is social sustainability in a financial services firm?
On the customer side, social sustainability is who can use the product, and whether the firm funds the work that makes that true. I was Head of Customer Sustainability at Standard Life. A reporting standard is a different brief.
How do you get a customer sustainability programme funded?
I secured £1m of Board and ExCo funding for a customer sustainability programme. The case that worked was a customer outcome the board could see, with a cost that fitted the change budget. I have written up how we got the gender pension gap work funded.
Do you produce ESG reports?
No. I do not produce ESG reports. A reporting standard is a different brief, and I will say so on the first call. The work I take is the customer strategy and the programme that has to be funded.